Where can you find my stuff?

As time continues to fly by, I am finding that I have an increasing portfolio of published material that I have either written, edited or developed. I thought it would be useful to have a means of finding all of this material so I have compiled links to the various publishers here. I will continue to update this particular blog as and when new material becomes available. Material is listed in chronological order with the most recent first. 

Last update: 09/04/2018
Wow! I thought it had been a little while since updating my blog, and logged on to discover it had actually been over a year! 
Alongside the published (or soon to be published) material listed here, in the last year, I have written a book for Grade 3 Primary Language Arts which I will have more news about soon, and I have also become an Assistant Examiner with Cambridge for IGCSE Geography and Spanish. To say the last year has been busy would be quite an understatement! JP

Hodder Cambridge International A Level Further Mathematics: Further Pure Mathematics 1 & Further Pure Mathematics 2.

This project has taken up the bulk of the last 12 months for me and was my first journey into the world of Project Management. What a journey it has been; to see these books now going to print brings me great joy!

I took over these books in the final stages of manuscript writing and saw them through from draft to proofs, and finally to print. The road to printing is rarely a smooth one and I guided these texts lovingly through every part of the process from photo research, to proofreading, to design, to obtaining Cambridge endorsement and ultimately to production. 

They are comprehensive texts that cover some truly beautiful mathematics and will no doubt prove engaging, useful and informative for students of this course. You can see sample materials and find out more on the Hodder website.

Hodder Cambridge IGCSE and O Level Additional Mathematics

This is a new title from Hodder, written for students taking the IGCSE Additional Mathematics from Cambridge International. I worked on the textbook and workbook for this innovative new course and found it to be very interesting. The course bridges the gap between IGCSE and International A Level, and these books not only stretch students to explore more sophisticated areas of Maths but also encourage them to foster and develop their own deeper understanding of Mathematical concepts. I really enjoyed working on this title...take a peek at it on this link .

Alongside working on the print resources for IGCSE Additional Maths, I have also been helping put together the online resources which are part of Hodder's Dynamic Learning platform.

Power Maths

This is the newest offering from Pearson for the UK Primary Curriculum. Power Maths takes a 'whole-class mastery approach' to learning and aligns with the White Rose Maths progressions. So far, I have been involved with Year 3 and will soon be involved in the development of Year 6. 

Hodder Cambridge IGCSE Core MathematicsHodder Cambridge Core and Extended Mathematics

These titles have been updated and given a new lease of life inline with the latest curriculum developments from Cambridge International. I worked as Development Editor on both Core and Core & Extended Mathematics for IGCSE, looking after both the textbooks and the student workbooks. View them and find samples on this link.

Hodder Cambridge Primary Maths

A sheer delight to work with Hodder's international department on this Cambridge International title. I was Development Editor on Stages 4, 5 and 6 and all of the workbooks. I appraised the digital offering that complements the series which includes CPD videos and an interactive whiteboard toolkit. I wrote some standard copy for the teacher's pack and adapted the teacher notes on the ready to use resource sheets. Doesn't sound an awful lot when you sum it up in a nutshell but this experience has been valuable, vast and varied and I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing this project through to publication.

You can view page samples and find out more about the series here:

Hodder Cambridge Primary Maths

You can hear series editors, Mike Askew & Paul Broadbent, talk about Hodder Cambridge Primary Maths on Hodder's YouTube Channel:

Hodder Cambridge Primary Science

Another title in the Cambridge Primary series.  Whilst working on Cambridge Primary Maths I was asked to jump in and help with the development of some stages of Cambridge Primary Science and, of course, I was more than happy to do so. I was also contributing editor on the teacher's pack for Stage 3.

View samples and find out more about this series here:

Hodder Cambridge Primary Science

Mathematics for the International Baccalaureate - Middle Years Programme 

MYP by Concept Mathematics 4&5 by Rita Bateson

I wanted to include this title because it really is a fantastic book. The approach taken by this series is fresh and innovative and sure to provide the 'hook' to get students interested in mathematics. From drone technology to algorithms, architecture and data science, this is the most modern maths textbook that I've seen and it was a privilege to see it before publication. I was contracted as proofreader on the 4&5 book (equivalent to GCSE) for both first and second proofs. The title then went to press with fantastic timing on Pi Day (14th March 2017)!

Have a look and find out more here: 

MYP by Concept Mathematics

Primary Geography (Irish Editions)

1st Class Me and My World

2nd Class The World Around Me

3rd Class The Wider World

4th Class The World in Which We Live

5th Class One World

6th Class How the World Works

Primary Geography (UK Editions)

Year 1 Me and My World

Year 2 The World Around Me

Year 3 A World of Difference

Year 4 Exploring Earth

Year 5 One Planet: Many Places

Year 6 Our Planet: Our Responsibility

In summary, commissioned by Prim Ed publishing, this project began as an adaptation of a series called Australian Curriculum Geography, however, due to the vast differences in local physical and human geography, as well as cultural, climactic and biological differences of the locations for which the series was written, a lot of new material was required to bring the series in line with the 2014 UK National Curriculum for Primary Schools and for the Irish SESE Geography Curriculum. 

Writing these books was a labour of love; long hours and lots of research as well as getting back to my classroom routes and digging out some of my favourite resources and lesson plans to become part of the series. The Irish series was enjoyable in the main part because of the research that was needed. I spent time learning about the physical and human Geography of a beautiful country and also expanded into fields of science such as astronomy which is included in their curriculum. Pages written for the Irish series about fairtrade were sent to Fairtrade Ireland for appraisal and they were sanctioned for use in educational settings which was an achievement I was very proud of. 

Find page samples and find out more on the UK series here:

Primary Geography UK

And the Irish series here:

Primary Geography Ireland

Complete Mathematics

This was my first step into the authoring world and began back in early 2014 when I was still teaching. I left teaching to pursue a new career which started here with La Salle Education (see previous blog posts). Seems like a lifetime ago now. I wrote hundreds (yes hundreds) of resources for the online platform Complete Mathematics. These included worksheets, pedagogical notes, assessments, quizzes, games. I could go on. Some of these lessons and their notes are bloody brilliant if I do say so myself and I truly wish more teachers could make use of the fantastic resources that are part of Complete Maths. I worked with team of talented authors at the start of this project before going full-time with La Salle and having a greater role in content development, editing and of course continuing to write for them as well. To see all of this work you will need to subscribe to Complete Maths via the La Salle website.

Some resources, however, you can get your hands on, hoorah! These are resources that were written as part of a series called the "Problem of the Day" These problems have come from not only myself but other teachers and authors involved with La Salle. You will be pleased to hear that the One Minute Challenge series in its entirety is part of this collection of free resources which has been put into a Problem Solving Booklet and can be downloaded for free. 

Primary Geography Now Available!

It's been quite some time since my last blog post!

Simply this is because I've been buried in work and have hardly looked up from my desk. I'm now in my second year of being a self-employed author and editor and I've been lucky enough, touch wood, to have never been without work since I started in September 2015. 

This month I have started to see the fruits of my labour as the first books I wrote have now been published. Last year, my first self-employed contract was for 12 books with Prim Ed publishing. Two series of six books called Primary Geography; one series for the UK (Years 1 - 6) and the other for Ireland (1st Class - 6th Class). 

This began purely as an adaptation from an Australian series called Curriculum Geography but had a high percentage of new pages dues to the curriculum (and obvious geographical) differences. I worked my socks off during the six-month contract to get them written and I'm really proud to finally see them on sale.

Geography has always been a love of mine and some of my best teaching memories and experiences came from Geography lessons. I very much enjoyed getting back to my roots through writing these books, I had been entirely Maths focused in my previous role so it was a pleasant change.

The 2014 curriculum changes affected Geography at Key Stages 1 and 2 considerably, with the addition of new topics and concepts not studied before and greater emphasis on geographical skills including map reading, grid references, latitude and longitude as well as experience in the field. I was able to put not only my teaching experience but also my Scouting experience to good use in crafting texts suitable for young readers that explored these concepts and more. 

Alongside creating the pupil texts I also wrote for teachers on pedagogy and best practice through the teaching notes that accompany every topic. It was interesting to explore the variety of resources available, online especially, for the enhancement of Geography teaching. I hope that these notes will prove useful to teachers as they embark on each topic, particularly those who are not Geography specialists.

To take a look at the series please visit the link below:

Primary Geography from Prim Ed publishing

A Reflection on Life After Teaching Part 4; You Will Feel It

This is my fourth and final blog in this short series on my first year since leaving teaching. I feel it necessary to end this series with some thoughts and advice for those who might be considering leaving the profession; to shed some light on the pros and cons that I have experienced and also from my experiences at times when other staff left whilst I was teaching. This blog post has not been written to encourage teachers to leave, it is intended to give some insight to those who are considering it and perhaps some food for thought for others.

Firstly there is one point I want to address because I have been left reeling recently after reading several other blog posts, various tweets, and seen the creation of #notquittingteaching which has really got my goat. There are many tweets out there, not to mention blogs, by teachers who feel it necessary to talk extensively about the negative aspects of teaching and then go on to exclaim boastfully that they remain in teaching because they are "not a quitter".

I resent the fact that by implication of that statement then myself, and any other teacher who has changed career path is, therefore, a quitter.

Have none of these evangelists ever stopped for just one second to think about the effect of what they are saying? In school we promote anti-bullying policy. We condone peer pressure. We try to shape our young people into tolerant citizens. Can we truly say that we reflect this model? 

How many people are out there in dire circumstances desperately unhappy and might, as a result of such propaganda, have decided not to make the decision that was right for them but to stay just because they don't want to be seen to be a "quitter"? How much pressure, anxiety, and distress might this cause people?

I urge anyone else who is of this mindset, who thinks it is ok to boast that they are not a quitter, to just for one moment stop and consider what the bigger picture might be before you type that tweet. Yes, there is a recruitment and retention crisis in teaching at the moment and yes something does need to be done about it but we must remember at the end of the day that we are all human beings and health and well-being must come first. A person who chooses to leave a situation that is causing them physical or emotional distress is not a quitter. 

 

(Picture from http://www.7cups.com/)

The situation for every individual person is different. Every school is different. Every person that considers leaving teaching has different reasons for doing so. Those reasons may seem trivial to somebody else, but to that individual they are critical. The first thing that must be addressed in this situation is what are those reasons? If it helps make a list of what your motivation is for wanting to leave teaching. This will help you to make more sense of all the things running around in your mind.

Whilst there had been many times that I wondered "why am I doing this?" and many nights of burning the midnight oil through marking and planning, I had never actually thought about leaving the profession. The time came for me to make my decision when I was presented with an opportunity which would mean I needed to leave teaching to pursue. 

In my situation, my personal circumstances had drastically changed. I was quite literally at a crossroads in my life. If I had stayed at school, stuck with the routine and familiarity, and continued as I was then that choice if you ask me would have been quitting. I would have been quitting on myself. Leaving teaching was the toughest decision but for me it was the right one and thanks to that decision I have been able to rebuild and start over.

If the time is right for you and you are meant for other things then you will know it in your gut. You will feel it. Likewise, that same gut feeling is what guides those who choose to remain in teaching, it's that feeling that gets you out of bed in the morning and gets you through winter break duty! Be careful though, if you don't listen to that gut feeling and you make a decision that's not right for you then it will just eat away at you, you will continue to be distressed and that's how people get stomach ulcers. 

Leaving teaching and leaving the education profession are very different. I have left teaching but I have not left education. In my job at La Salle I was in and out of classrooms all the time, but I was working with teachers rather than students. In my current role, I am writing educational materials. Ask yourself do you want to leave teaching, or do you want to leave education entirely? The education industry is vast and varied so it is worth considering if there is an alternative role for you. I have certainly not turned my back on the profession, rather I have diversified within my industry. I am still an educator, I still feel and believe that the work I do directly impacts young people and helps to make a difference to them. That was my biggest motivation as a teacher and remains my biggest motivation today. 

I want to address the hot potato that is "teachers holidays". Now, as a teacher your year is mapped out and holidays defined. If you leave this and enter the corporate world you get let's say 25 days a year plus bank holidays. This was not a nice thought when I initially left teaching. However, I soon made a discovery...quite a startling one. There are these things called evenings, and these other things called weekends! As a teacher neither of these had ever really existed, they were consumed with all the things I didn't have time to do during the day. My weekends are now my own, and I have time in the evenings as well. Let's be frank, half terms certainly were mostly spent marking and planning, maybe a few days off were achieved during Christmas and Easter break and then perhaps a fortnight dispersed here and there in the summer. So in actuality, it's probably around the same amount of true days off, plus work free evenings and weekends. On balance, it's difficult to see which is the best deal. Don't make the decision to leave or to stay in teaching based on holiday entitlement, there are ups and downs in both positions.

When I left school I had a new job to go to the next day, I didn't leave without a plan or without financial security. If you are considering leaving teaching then you need to think about the financial implications, make sure that you can survive for a short while if you don't immediately have alternative employment. 

Never decide to leave on a whim after a bad day, an argument, or a less than outstanding observation. We all have bad days. This brings me back to my earlier point, what is your motivation for leaving? You must be totally clear about why you are making the decision. If you feel like leaving after a bad day go home and write down how you are feeling, then look at what you have written after a couple of days and see if you still feel the same. Emotions can be our unruly masters, they can cause us to make decisions which we may later regret, or they can cause us to regress and not make a decision out of fear or anxiety. Let the emotion subside and then you will be in a better place to make judgements. 

If you have made the decision to leave and have handed over your resignation then working through the notice period can be really tough. You still have to perform all of your duties, you mustn't let down your colleagues and your students by being anything other than professional at this time. For some the notice period can be motivational, knowing the end is in sight can stir people towards producing excellent lessons and awesome assemblies, I have seen this happen. That's because the stress of the decision-making process has been removed, and a plan is now in place. For others, it can be a rather more distressing and upsetting time. This is especially true when a teacher is more emotionally connected to a school, to colleagues, or to students. It can be difficult to think about how your classes will get on once you leave; it can be even more difficult not to think about the current exam classes and your hopes and aspirations for them. During this time try to find support from other staff, from friends or family, or even from online communities. 

Making the decision to leave teaching does not mean that you are not a teacher anymore. I have said in previous posts and I will reiterate that I still identify myself as a teacher and I am proud to say that I am a teacher. Besides which I am almost always helping someone somewhere in my friends or family with their Maths! 

Leaving a job doesn't change your personality, it doesn't change who you are and it doesn't change your work ethic. Teachers are special people with skills to share, you might be sharing those skills in a different way and in a new place, but you will always be a teacher to the core. 

Perhaps this post has come across as waffle, or perhaps it has given you food for thought. I've tried to truncate my opinions on the recruitment and retention crisis and comment on what I believe to be the points most people considering leaving teaching think about. 

Thanks for reading, find me on Twitter @JennyPeek

A Reflection on Life After Teaching Part 3; Excellent Stuff!

This post is rather delayed since I published the previous part in this series, mainly because of a heavy workload, winter lurgy, and Christmas. Apologies!

I have started and deleted this post several times, mainly because there is simply too much to say. At the end of my last post in this series on life after teaching, I described my last days at school and was about to embark on an exciting new path. It was such a jam-packed year that I found myself writing for far too long and soon realised I would need to write a ten-part series to really describe the journey I have been on.

So, rather than bore my audience silly, I have decided to give you the highlights. These are moments that have shaped my new career path, that have given me professional experiences I never thought possible, and most of all brought some amazing people into my life.

I worked on the content for Complete Mathematics, writing new original content and editing content submitted by other authors. We would regularly hold authoring weekends where a gang of talented of maths teachers and the La Salle team would beaver away from Friday to Sunday producing some of the best resources available in today's market. It wasn't all work and no play and it was enjoyable to socialise in the evenings, the visit to the Christmas markets in Birmingham in 2014 was a great evening. It was a pleasure to work with such talented and passionate people. 

I worked with PGCE students at EHU & BCU. Helping those about to embark upon teaching was an absolute privilege, it was such a great feeling to be able to use my own experience to help them in their development.

Working with the students at Edge Hill was especially rewarding since that was where I was trained so it was lovely to be back there as alumni. Visiting students before embarking on their placements and then again at the end of their course for feedback sessions was truly fulfilling. These experiences have made me realise that working with trainees is something I would very much like to pursue in future. 

I helped to organise and attended three National Mathematics Teachers Conferences in Kettering, Birmingham, and London. At the Kettering conference in 2014, I was a speaker, leading a workshop on the evolution of online education in the UK. This is something I have much to say about, look out for future posts on the subject. We raised £1000 for Macmillan Cancer Support at the Kettering conference and I had the duty of writing out the big cheque in my best teacher display handwriting!

The Birmingham conference in March 2015 had grown considerably since Kettering. A larger venue and increased attendance meant a lot more for the team to do. On this occasion some of my written work went on large display boards, it was a series called the One Minute Challenge which I had written for La Salle as part of the Problem of the Day releases. I was super proud to see my work not only being displayed but also to see people stopping and working out the answers to each challenge. The highlight of this day was when none other than Johnny Ball looked over my work, we had a short conversation about it and then he told me it was "excellent stuff!" I was over the moon to receive that kind of feedback from him. All of the challenges are now available in the Problem Solving Booklet which can be downloaded from the La Salle website. 

The London conference was another brilliant day, for more on this see my previous post Quod Erat Demonstrandum.

I have met some great people, from colleagues at La Salle to fellow Maths geeks I have met along the way. I have also learnt how to deal with people who are less easy to get along with. I spent a lot of time on trains and away from home as I worked with two hubs of research schools in Yorkshire and the North East. I got to know those schools and their staff very well and it was a pleasure to visit them regularly throughout the year. I also organised and lead my first Teach Meet in my hometown of Liverpool earlier this year, it was a joy to be able to connect with, and collaborate with, teachers in my local area.

I have been awakened to a wider social circle and have an incredible bunch of new friends, mainly stemming from the Twittersphere. I joined Geek Club and have never looked back. I didn't have to pass a test to gain entry, although I remember I did send @El_Timbre a Maths based riddle in Spanish to give weight to my multilingual mathematical prowess. The Maths community on Twitter is phenomenal, full of teachers sharing ideas, supporting each other and listening to one another. I am very lucky to be able to call many of these teachers my friends, I won't name names, you know who you are!

Celebrating Pi Day at midnight with @El_Timbre and @missraddders photobomb from @RJS2212 

Throughout all of the work launching the National Maths teacher network and Complete Mathematics, I continued to develop my authoring and editing skills. Individually I was a prolific author for Complete Maths, with hundreds of original objectives authored by myself as well as hundreds of others I had edited, or co-authored. I began to develop a real love for writing, I thoroughly enjoyed the research aspect of the task, especially in understanding and comparing pedagogy and teaching methods. I would write extensive pedagogical notes alongside crafting resources, worksheets, group work tasks, whiteboard questions and assessment questions. I loved applying a creative twist to resources and seeing the end results after the design team had worked their magic.

Sadly this came to an end after the launch year for Complete Maths was over. I remain an associate of La Salle and look forwards to seeing the network continue to grow and flourish in the coming years.

My life and my outlook have been completely changed by this year. I am a stronger, more confident, and more experienced person with skills and professional experiences on my C.V that have opened up many more options for me. I wanted to continue as an author and so I sought new commissions. I am now part way through a writing and editing commission for a series of books for Prim-Ed and I am very excited about the future. 

Teaching will always be there, it will always be part of me. I still identify myself as a teacher and I still feel proud to say that I am a teacher. For now, I have put the lid on my purple pen and I am happy to see where my new path leads me. It has been 14 months since I finished school, so far, so good.

My next and final post in this series will be published later in January and is likely to be the one most people wanted to read, the one that answers all the questions...how to come to the decision to leave teaching, what to think about, the pros and cons, the ups and downs. Leaving teaching is not a decision to make lightly and whilst every situation is different there are threads that all teachers in "should I / shouldn't I" limbo land will identify with. 

Until then, I wish everyone a peaceful and prosperous New Year 2016.

@JennyPeek

A Reflection on Life After Teaching Part 2; Maybe, Just Maybe, I Could.

This is a continuation, so if you have not done so please read my previous post (A Reflection on Life After Teaching Part 1; That's When I saw The Tweet)

Shrewd readers amongst you will have noticed that by the end of part one I still hadn't left the classroom, but the events which lead me to do so had started some eight months earlier, and by the end of summer 2014 I was about to make a life-altering decision. 

I saw little of the summer that year, instead I chose to throw myself into the new world of authoring full time for La Salle Education. I spent that summer house sitting for friends, I had nothing but peace and quiet, no distractions, and plenty of time to focus on my work. I had no idea actually if I was doing well with the work or not, only that it kept on coming. More and more objectives were sent my way. I was really enjoying the challenge of not only creating the usual worksheets and activities that as teachers we are used to creating but now also of researching pedagogy. I was exploring why we teach things the way we do, common methodologies and approaches, finding papers and evidence to support, or refute, traditional educational theory. All the while, I still had a little voice at the back of my head worrying that my work was at best average, certainly not outstanding, surely not by comparison to those incredible mathematicians I had met earlier in the year. Nonetheless, as long as the work kept coming, I kept rising to the challenge and by the end of the summer I had written so many objectives I couldn't remember why I found it so daunting to begin with. Writing had become for me an absolute pleasure.

September loomed and the new term was about to start when I received an email from Mark (McCourt). We had been in touch on and off through the summer for new commissions and keeping on top of schedules and I knew Mark wanted as much of KS3 finished ready for the launch of Complete Maths in September. Oh no, I thought, he wants to take these last few objectives away now because I hadn't finished them quick enough. Au contraire, the email took me quite by surprise when I received compliments and praise for my work so far and a wish for this to continue in future. La Salle had been advertising for Maths teachers to join the team full time, but I'd never have dreamt of applying, I wouldn't have the confidence to do so. Mark may have preempted my fears as his email urged me to apply for the post. 

Initially I shrugged this off as a ridiculous, impractical, almost ludicrous idea. I'm not experienced enough, other people are better than I am, what do they see in me? I had plenty of ammunition to throw at myself, yet all the while something else kept telling me "maybe, just maybe, I could." With a little persuasion from friends I bit the bullet, reworked my CV, sent it in, and was promptly asked down to Corby for a "chat". You know what's coming next......that train journey, again! By this stage, however, I had found my way around Nottingham station where I needed to change trains, I knew the exact location of the loos at several mainline stations en route, and always carried a 20p and a 10p coin, so I was far better prepared. I informed my head that I was going for this interview, they had been very supportive of me doing the authoring but I'm sure that, like me, they were not expecting the outcome that occurred either. 

To say I was nervous would be putting it mildly.  I arrived before my scheduled time and waited in the reception area of the Corby Enterprise Centre like some kind of travelling nomad with my suitcase in tow. Mark came to meet me and we went to a meeting room. We chatted for a short while and I was bowled over to hear exactly what an impression my work had made. I distinctly remember thinking that he must have got the wrong person. Mark also gave me some useful critique which I took on board and found very helpful. Then it came to the crunch and I was offered a full time job with La Salle as part of their Mathematics Team, Mark said he had been interviewing me for months since I had been authoring and that there was a place in the team for me if I wanted it. Actually, at that point, I was to be the entire Maths Team! I couldn't quite believe what was happening, this could actually change my life. Someone had seen what I was capable of and believed in me. I could not turn this down. Hands were shook and that was the start of a new chapter in my life, all I needed to do now was tell school!

I waited until after the first day that I was back in lessons had finished and then I spoke to my head. Clearly I couldn't, and wouldn't, just be doing a flit and abandoning anybody. I had been at that school almost ten years, I was one of the first teachers there when the school was launched and the head had been my support through good times and bad. This chat once again took me by surprise. My head was supportive, kind and above all demanded that I seize the opportunity. I was so touched by her generosity. Between us we worked out a way to put my timetable into three days and for the next half term I worked three days a week at school and two days a week for La Salle. I'm glad I had this short time to get ready for the departure from school and to become more accustomed to work outside of the school setting. During that time I was able to prepare and pass over files and paperwork for my classes, ten years of planning, teaching, assessing, target setting, syllabus writing and policy making was all organised neatly into files and folders. I was also involved with recruiting and training new members of staff who would take over. Behind the scenes, and unbeknown to the students, we were planning my leaving with mathematical precision. 

The last week arrived. I had knots in my stomach and hadn't been sleeping well as the final day approached. I was excited to be starting my new chapter, but the worst part was still to come. There is one thing that keeps us in teaching, one thing that builds us up when we think we've had enough, one thing that drives us all crazy but then brings us showers of happiness...yes, you've guessed it, the students! Quite purposefully, the students had not yet been told that I was leaving and I was dreading them finding out. On the last day, a special whole school assembly was called after lunch. Some of the students, the older ones mainly in my IGCSE classes, had twigged something was going on and I had had several very carefully worded conversations with them. The head lead the conversation and very sensitively explained that I was going to be leaving. After some initial shock the atmosphere changed and before I knew it my screen began to explode with a torrent of well wishes, bunches of flowers, funny gifs, congratulations banners, thanks you's, chocolates, cute bunnies, you name it. I was overwhelmed by the support of the children I was so worried to be letting down. I still keep the script of the assembly, it was amongst the most humbling moments of my life, one that I will never, ever, forget. I was then presented with a leaving gift on behalf of the staff and students which was another unexpected surprise. It was time to leave, the last minute of the last day passed just like any other minute of any other day and there I was at my desk blubbing like a big baby. It was the end of an era, there was no going back. 

I was about to embark upon a whole new career and at that point I had no idea just what an incredible journey it was going to be. 

Find out more about my first year out of the classroom in part 3.

Follow me on Twitter @JennyPeek

A Reflection on Life After Teaching Part 1; That's When I Saw The Tweet

I've just passed the first anniversary of leaving teaching and what a year it has been. It seems fitting to reflect on what this year has taught me; on both a professional and a personal level. 

I had not planned to ever leave teaching but the universe conspired and I found events began to take a turn and lead me along a road I couldn't have dreamt of. 

Teaching isn't just a job, it is not something any of us does for the money (although many might believe otherwise according to the recent #TeachersMake campaign). Teaching is a vocation, I know this is a cliche, but it is true. One has to be drawn to teaching, to have that certain je ne sais quoi that gets your lessons going, that inspires young people, that gets you through the long winter days. I always had that drive, that belief in teaching, even after badly injuring myself during my PGCE year I continued on my course and school placements with two crutches, then one crutch and then a walking stick because all I wanted to do was teach.

How could I possibly ever want to leave that all behind then? What happened to make me choose such a drastic change in my career? LIFE, that's what happened. In 2013, my personal circumstances changed significantly, I found myself living with my mother after the breakdown of my marriage and I was at an all time low. Something had to give. I had to make a new path, a better path, and start a life on my own. 

I had worked for the last ten years for a British Online High School. Now, I know, many of you may never have heard of such a thing so let me assure you that they do exist. They are very definitely real; the pupils are real, the teachers are real, and life every day is as close to a normal school day as possible. I am drafting another blog about this, hoping to dispel the many myths surrounding online education, so I will save further explanation for another time. I was Senior Teacher and Lead in three subjects. I knew the syllabus inside out, having designed the school syllabi for those subjects. I was at a stage where I began to feel I had gone as far as I could go and needed a new challenge. That's when I saw the tweet.

It was February 2014 when a new, fairly unknown education business called La Salle Education was looking for Maths teachers to do some authoring for a new project. I thought it looked interesting so I replied to the tweet and was asked to send in my CV. CV?? What CV?? I'd been doing the same job for ten years, I hadn't written a CV in over a decade! Nonetheless, I managed to pull together a ramshackle document and duly emailed it. A little while later, I received an email asking me to attend a working weekend at a hotel in Corby. Corby was a long way away, but something was telling me to do this. I booked my train and hotel and told the family what I was doing. They all thought I was BONKERS, traveling hundreds of miles away, alone, to a hotel, to meet people I'd never heard of! I couldn't shake the feeling that whatever this was, it was what I was meant to do. 

Off I went, my first experience of what is possibly one of the longest, most tedious train journeys possible. Anyone who has ever caught the Liverpool - Norwich train will know exactly what I mean! Little did I know that this particular 6 - 8 hour trek would soon become a regular commute. I booked in at the Holiday Inn and had possibly the most wakeful nights sleep I'd had in a while. The following morning I was up sharp, dressed and desperate not to let my nerves show. I walked into a room where there were lot's of other people, each sat at a small table with laptops ready. Someone suggested this arrangement was rather like school and so we rearranged to make a larger set of two tables where we could face each other. The day began with introductions, and what do you know, who gets asked to go first? So I introduced myself, said a little about my background, and then threw in the fact that I was a Scout Leader. My heart sank as we went around the table and I heard some of the most illustrious education CV's possible. What on earth was I doing in a room with these people? What did I possibly think I could bring to this project when such great minds were already involved? 

Mark McCourt then began talking about La Salle, who they were and what they were planning to achieve by creating something called Complete Mathematics. I identified with everything he spoke of, especially when it came to the greater use of technology in education. I was enamoured with the ideals of this new project and I was interested to get involved. 

Lunch was provided and it was a chance to circulate; as if I wasn't already nervous enough in this set of social circumstances, I now had to cope with finger food! I did manage to strike up some conversations, with people who I can now actually call my friends, looking back I can't believe how nervous I felt then especially when I think of how easily and often we chat or tweet today. For the first time, I met the lovely Linda Hooper, Eddie Orija, Julia Smith and Bruno Reddy amongst others. It may have only been a courteous conversation on that day but since then I have had the pleasure and pride of working with these people on many occasions. 

The afternoon came and it was time to have a go at some authoring. Mark mentioned that he knew some people at the table were considering the Lead Author position and that he would be looking more at that at a later date. I could never do that, I thought to myself. 

Topics were dished out and I was given Year 8, Parallel, Alternate, and Corresponding. Suddenly my mind went blank as if all Euclidean knowledge had been zapped out of my brain, probably due to the stress of the finger food. I made some rough ideas and spent time getting to grips with the online system we needed to use for the work. A system which, even in it's early days, was a sophisticated piece of technology. I liked the system and found I could easily find my way around and put things where they needed to be. Time was ticking and the afternoon went on, I was so relieved when Mark said that we then had a week to finish the first objective. 

The worst bit about train travel out of Corby is that there is only one train an hour, and an extra hour is a long time to wait when you are already 8 hours from home. Looking at my watch, I knew if I could get out of there quick smart I could make the next train, or else I'd have that extra hour wait. Thankfully Mr. Reddy was also thinking the same thing. He'd called a cab and said jump in, with moments to spare Bruno grabbed my case, we legged it out of the cab, onto the platform, and managed to dive onto the train just as the doors were starting to beep. Thank you Bruno. What a day that was!

I finished off my objective as requested and awaited news. Mark contacted me and asked me if I could go down to Corby again to the La Salle Offices.  So, off I went again on the train journey from hell....

There were a couple of other authors also attending on that day, we got to meet the team at the office and Mark went over some finer details with us about the authoring work. He said he'd like me to continue working on the project and was pleased to have me on board as an author. I was thrilled at this and very happily took on some more units of work. 

This authoring work was carried out alongside my teaching commitments for the rest of the school year, and then I authored full time during summer 2014. That was the summer when everything changed.

Find out what happened next in Part 2...

Follow me on Twitter @JennyPeek

Singing About Numbers

Whilst listening to the radio I heard a track called Living by Numbers from 80s group New Musik and this made me wonder how many other songs there may be with the word number or numbers in the title.

I'm sure we've all heard of one or two more, but my search revealed a plethora of tracks, many of which I had never heard of (and some I'd rather not hear again!) It was glaringly obvious to me that the titles of these tracks could take us on a journey through life, so here goes.

Let's start with creation itself and begin with Richard Ashcroft (ex-frontman of 90s band The Verve) and his track God In the Numbers. We venture into the world and through the passage of time we learn that Days are Numbers as sung by The Alan Parsons Project.

As children, we begin to explore our imagination and most of us at some point in our childhood will have Painted By Numbers, a pastime which must have been enjoyed by band The Sounds who took to singing about it. (I've recently seen adults taking up the pastime to Colour By Numbers just as Culture Club were doing in the 80s.)

At school, in Maths, we discover that there are Odd Numbers and Even Numbers, as sung about by the Young Rapids and Gregor Samsa respectively. Some of us become Numberstruck like the band 1200 Micrograms whilst some of us just end up Drowning In Numbers as put to music by Placebo. In Geography we learn about Places Named After Numbers, sung about by Frank Black.

As we grow up, and perhaps have the odd bet, many of us come to believe in our Lucky Numbers as did the Generationals; a note of praise for the artwork on this record, see pic below. We also say that there is Strength in Numbers as sung by The Music; similarly we find Safety in Numbers as sung by We Were Promised Jetpacks.

We learn the certainties of life, that Numbers Don't Lie, and that there is Truth in Numbers, put to music by The Mynabirds and Cut Ribbons. Those who choose not to believe those truths continue to believe that they are all just Crazy Numbers and that Numbers Count For Nothing, according to Victim of Illusion and the Architects.

Some people want to be Alone With Numbers like Alexandre Desplat (The Imitation Game OST) and others want to get Away From The Numbers as did The Jam (and probably as do most Maths teachers by last period on a Friday).

We see Numbers in Action all around us every day, as we are reminded in the track by Wiley. We see Numbers On The Boards which Pusha T put to lyrics, there are Little Numbers like those sung about by Boy, Numbers as described in the country ditty by Jason Michael Carrol and The Four Tops were interested in Just Seven Numbers. 

Finally, perhaps not the most common weapon of choice, but The Police did warn us about Murder By Numbers, which brings us to the end of a brief journey through life in musical numbers. 

So, on reflection, ask yourself if you Feel Good By Numbers like The Go Team, or if indeed this only goes to show The Meaninglessness Of Numbers as argued by Tom Rosenthal in his melancholy melody.

You can listen to any of the 32 tracks mentioned here on my Spotify Playlist, enjoy if you dare! There are a great many other tracks simply called "Numbers", too many to list here, many are not exactly easy listening, but it is an interesting distraction to do a quick search and take in few sound bytes.

Disclaimer: I can take no responsibility for any offence caused by the poetic licence, creativity, or lack thereof, expressed in the lyrics to any tracks mentioned here. Reader, please note that they are not all suitable for radio airplay and shouldn't be played to young people unless you have listened to them yourself first!

For more of my ramblings give me a follow @jennypeek

All images found via Google search, they are public images, I do not claim to own them.